Eric Church Shares Heartwarming, Nostalgic Moment With His 2 Young Kids

Eric Church relived meaningful memories with his two young sons in a unique way on Wednesday evening (July 12). The “Heart On Fire” superstar walked through his new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit, chronicling his life and career, and seeing memorabilia representing experiences he’s shared with his family over the years.

Some of it, he said, reminded him of days that he brought his then-infant or -toddler sons on tour with him, which the boys might not remember now.

“The best part about this for me… Both of my kids, from two and three months old, they grew up on the tour bus,” Church, who is also the museum’s 2023 artist-in-residence, said as he made remarks about the new exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame Rotunda. “And when you’re in the tornado and you’re going through it, you forget all these things that happen. And to be beside my boys tonight as we walk through, and we went through, you know, those … when they were 1 or 2 or 3 and they just don’t remember that. That was my favorite part of this entire exhibit, experiencing it again with them.”

Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul, presented by Gibson, features artifacts representing key moment’s in the North Carolina-born artist’s life and career. Some memorable items museum goers can see include a pair of Church’s signature aviators, guitars, wardrobe pieces, manuscripts, a note from Bruce Springsteen, awards, set lists, posters and other iconic mementos longtime fans will surely recognize.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young hailed Church an artist long known for going “his own way,” including in the early 2000s when, as an opening act, he was quickly kicked off of a Rascal Flatts headlining tour for playing “too loud, too long, and maybe tried a little too hard to be a hard act to follow.” Ultimately, Young added later, then-16-year-old Taylor Swift replaced Church as an opening act, and wrote a thank you note to him for “playing too long.” That note is now on display at the museum.

“As you can see, Eric was already a hard act to follow, and he still is,” Young said as he delivered a speech in the Rotunda on Wednesday evening. “Uncompromising, bound and determined to do things his way, blending country with rock and soul. Speaking his mind in his songs and his interviews. Absolutely convinced that albums should be artistic statements, never ‘product.’ And that no album should be a retread of the last one, no matter how successful it was. Going against the grain.”

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum announced the exhibit last month. Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul is now open and included in museum admission. It will remain open through June 2024.

“This is an unbelievable honor for me,” Church said. “There is something to doing it your own way, and you can still get to where you wanna go if you do it that way.”